Brian Lomax Cup

About the Brian Lomax SD Cup

The Brian Lomax SD Cup (formerly known as the SD Cup) is an annual Cup fixture held between two Supporter-Owned football clubs to celebrate the role supporters play in owning and supporting their own football clubs up and down the country.

It was renamed in memory of the former SD Managing Director who is considered to be the 'founding father' of the Supporters Trust movement and who passed away in 2015. Brian was respected and loved by all those who had the pleasure of meeting and working alongside him. His dedication to supporters' rights and his tireless work for his beloved Northampton Town gave birth to the Supporters Trust movement that we all know today. His legacy lives on in every single member of each Trust up and down the country and we are very proud to honour his memory annually with this fixture.

The competition came about when AFC Wimbledon were being formed and they were receiving considerable amounts of help from Enfield Town. That support was cemented when a friendly match between the two was subsequently organised. The game would be the first time two supporters’ trust-owned clubs had played each other, and given the level of the teams in the football pyramid, was one that looked like it might be a decent competitive game for a club with few competitive matches under its belt.

In anticipation of this, Supporters Direct agreed to sponsor a cup, but as a publicly funded body, it neither had the spare cash nor could they justify spending it on silverware. A call went out to members of Supporters’ Direct’s mailing list, used by fans from clubs up and down the country who raised the money. Therefore, in principle, the cup was by the fans for the fans.

The trophy is engraved with the words of Jock Stein which sums up the basis of the Trust movement:

‘Football without fans is nothing’

SD Shield

Each year two clubs also compete for the SD Shield a similar competition played between two supporter-owned clubs, which gives another opportunity to celebrate clubs in the movement.